somtoh.....

somtoh somtoh somtoh (sorry)...i've been awful at writing on here lately! I definetely need to update! The past month has been so crazy and busy! At the end of September we went to the coastal town of Sihanoukville. We stayed at a super cute hotel for $9 a night each and hung out on the beach and went and saw some waterfalls. It was kinda rainy but that didn't dampen our moods. We met up with our new friend Charlotte and hung out with her quite a bit too.
Since being back in Phnom Pehn I've been very busy at work doing report cards and trying to get ahead in my planning. Me and Kim are just getting over being sick...we think Kim caught a weak strain of dengue fever. I had a fever for a couple days but it went away.
Last weekend we got together with a whole bunch of other Canadians and celebrating thanksgiving with a huge feast...even pumpkin pie! It was great! We had a scary ride home on a moto though as someone speeding by on another moto tried to grab Kim's purse and almost pulled us and our driver over into traffic. It was quite the scare and reminded us just how careful we need to be.
There is now officially a family of rats that live at our gate. There is hardly a day that goes by that I don't see one or two. We have also discovered.... to our horror...that the wierd squeaks we hear at night are bats outside our window. Those of you who don't know me that well....I am PETRIFIED of flying animals..ie birds and bats. This is not good news...not at all. Further news with animals...there are two very cute little kittens that live on the roof outside our back window but are very very scared of white faces and "here kitty kitty kitty" and run away. The dogs have stopped barking at night which is AWESOME.
I am continuing to love my life and adventures here. I walk home from school everyday and just take it all in. The crazy traffic, the stares, the people doing wierd things (yesterday me and kim saw some ladies shaving another lady's back..no lie).
Oh yeah and my teacher assistant Sichan and her husband adopted (well not officially but nothing is here) a baby girl from a very poor family that lives up near the Thai border. The family had no money and it was the sixth girl under 12 years old. So Sichan and her husband drove up there and gave the family and community money and food and took the baby home. Her name is Sotheary which is a very common name here. She is beautiful and only 3 weeks old. Sichan is loving being a mother and talks about her all the time. Its the most beautiful thing to see....she gave this family and the community all of her money and even borrowed some from her aunt. Everytime I think about it I am floored by her compassion and giving heart. I wish you could all meet her. She inspires me to be a better person. I am so thankful that God gave her to me this year at school.